Microplastics: A Threat on the Rise

Plastic is a cheap and easy material that humans utilize on a daily basis.  Plastics are used to make bottles for water, grocery packaging, and for many other applications. But the more humans consume the product, the more polluted the oceans become with plastics. Plastic pollution is a global conundrum that could serve major consequences for the planet in the future.  
According to a 2015 study by the Jambeck Research group, by 2025, 70 million tons of plastic debris will enter the oceans.

Most plastic debris in the oceans comes from freshwater ecosystems, like rivers or lakes. Lakes and rivers are commonly used to research the effects of plastic pollution because of the water systems connection to human survival. The research created the discovery of high counts of microplastics in the Great Lakes. Microplastics are types of plastic particles less than 5 millimeters long. They are known to cause harmful effects on the health of marine organisms and potentially on human health as well. These tiny particles can be easily mistaken by marine life as food when it floats in the water. The particles can get in the water by washing clothes with synthetic fibers or by washing with exfoliating shower gels and face creams. Even in 2015, former President Obama signed a bill to ban microbeads in the United States because of its harm to the country’s water system.

Mohammed H. Rumman, a Kent State graduate student, recently completed a study on microplastics’ effects on freshwater ecosystems. He explained the dangers of microplastics and how plastic debris can eventually end up in the human food chain.

“Every time you wash your synthetic fabrics, for example, made up of nylon or rayon, there are like 17,000-18,000 pieces of fibers. These fibers have been found in the Arctic ice so that they can be ingested by the fish or other smaller crustaceans. And then that smaller crustaceans are then eaten by certain birds or other fish. And if we eat the birds or fish or crustaceans it can enter our food plan.”

Even though microplastics appear to have immediate consequences on human health, there haven’t been many studies on the dangers of the particles.

“The microplastic studied in class, would you agree, is just the data. “…they haven’t done [study around the dangers] right now because people are still trying to understand the effects of plastics altogether,” Rumman said.

“So the plastic themselves don’t pose like that much of an imminent threat right now per se, versus the other chemicals that they were laced with.”

Chemicals like flame retardants additives, Bisphenol A (BPA), or Bisphenol S (BPS) can be found in most plastics. BPA and BPS are used for the production of polycarbonate plastics. These chemicals are easily exposed to human life because of their contact with food and drink packaging. The chemicals are known to cause hormone disruption which can affect the behavior of young children.

The detailed portion highlighted in the chart below represents the amount of micro-plastics found in local waters. Some areas include between Cleveland and Buffalo. The amount of pollution has been recored in kilometers squared, which equals to a much greater magnitude of area than a yard or an acre.

“I’m concerned about this figure because I think it skews the information that’s presented here in a way that is misleading at first glance,” says David Costello, ecotoxicologist and assistant professor in the biology department.

Using a larger scale to analyze the microplastic pollution often leads to misinformation on the actual amount that we’re dealing with.

“Just because we can measure it doesn’t mean it’s a risk,” says Costello. “You know, chemicals need to reach a certain concentration to have any sort of activity in the body.”

The amount of microplastic pollution that has been found in parts of Lake Erie shouldn’t surprise many people.

“Lake Erie is the most populated great lake and that’s the one with the plastic problem. So it’s not, it’s not that surprising,” says Costello.

As of now, microplastics found in Lake Erie may not pose a huge threat but, the recycling habits of many people, if changed, can alter the current course of climatic change for the better.

“Up to half of what’s in our trash bins is recyclable,” says Melanie Knowles, campus sustainability manager. “And the things that are still going into the trash are recyclables like plastic bottles, office paper, newspapers and magazines.”

Although the Kent State sustainability office doesn’t focus on microplastic pollution, they do however, uphold initiatives that aim to reduce the amount of plastics and waste all over campus.

Recyclemania, a campus-wide program, is an eight-week long recycling competition normally hosted during February and March. The group or organization who recycles the most wins an award and campus-wide bragging rights.

“And part of the reason it’s eight-weeks long is because that’s how long it takes to form a habit,” says Knowles.

Kent State has tri-weekly recycling pick-ups on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through Portage County Recycling. One of the biggest accomplishments that has come from Kent’s tenacious efforts to reduce waste is the increase of our waste diversion rate.

“Your diversion rate is the amount that is recycled divided by the total amount of waste,” says Knowles.

Since becoming the sustainability manager in 2012, Knowles efforts have tremendously increased the amount of recycling across the campus.

Some of her efforts include pairing trash bins with recycling bins so people can make a conscious choice of what they throw into the landfill.

“In 2012 our diversion rate was about 18%,” says Knowles. “Right now, our diversion rate is around like 36%. So it’s basically double since 2012.”

Believe it or not, this increase in plastic recycling aids to limiting the amount of plastics that make it into our drinking waters, streams, and other waterways.

It’s up to us as the human race to acknowledge our overuse of plastic materials and the ways in which our environment is affected.

“It’s like we want to increase what we’re recycling, but you can also increase that diversion rate by reducing the amount of, of trash,” says Knowles.